MELBOURNE shouldn't have even been here, really.
Just two weeks ago, an extraordinary first season under new coach Steven King had the Demons doing what few anticipated they could. Their record at the MCG was almost perfect, their introduction of youth at a time of significant list transition had been extraordinary, and the fans were very much along for the ride.
DEMONS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats
Astute judges like Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd, on AFL.com.au's Access on August 10, even went as far as to say he wouldn't be shocked if the Demons won the flag.
But a horror fortnight, starting with a Jacob van Rooyen hit on Port Adelaide defender Aliir Aliir and ending with them being knocked out of the post-season by the Carlton fairytale, will have the Demons asking 'what if?’.
With three minutes left in the first half back in round 23, Melbourne was humming. Fresh off a stunning win over Fremantle a week earlier, the Dees were leading Port Adelaide by six goals and knocking on the door of the top four, leaning heavily on the forward combination of van Rooyen, Harrison Petty and Matthew Jefferson.
But a stray van Rooyen arm, resulting in a three-match suspension that couldn't be lessened despite two appeals, was the first domino to fall.
Without its spearhead, and still without the injured Brody Mihocek, Melbourne arrived at the MCG for round 24 still confident it could do enough to finish in the top six and land a week off. But it was coming up against a Western Bulldogs side that, while beaten up, was fighting for its life.
Without van Rooyen to hold down the attack, more was asked of 23-gamer Jefferson, and retiring stalwart Tom McDonald was added to the line.
But Jefferson ended the match on the bench with a hyperextended knee, and defensive leader Jake Lever worked hard to battle through a foot complaint but eventually found himself in the rooms icing the injury. Ultimately, both would not be able to come up for the start of finals.
As the blows kept coming, the Demons found it increasingly difficult to stand up to the challenge.
So, just its second loss at the MCG for 2026 saw them fall from a potential double chance to a knockout match against the in-form team of the competition, the Blues riding a tidal wave of momentum.
And once the fumbling, worried version of the Blues from the first quarter on Saturday night turned into the hard-running, confident variety that had seen them miraculously reach the post-season under an interim coach, the Demons were in strife.
With a niggly knee and no Lever for support, Daniel Turner was left to lead a young and undersized backline to allow McDonald to go forward.
Kysaiah Pickett couldn't shake off attention from Cooper Lord and have his normal high impact on the game, with the Dees star uncharacteristically sloppy by foot and kicking just three behinds from six shots on goal to go with an overall disposal efficiency of just 32 per cent.
Jake Melksham, now retired, struggled to slot his signature roves near goal, Kade Chandler was forced to search high up the ground to get involved, and Petty was well covered in lieu of another dangerous tall target alongside him in the attacking 50.
No longer was the pressure and intensity that underlined the first term going to be enough against the Carlton onslaught. The midfield couldn't capitalise on the dominance of Max Gawn, the forward line couldn't stand up to the manic pressure of Carlton's smalls and intercepting of its talls, and the backline was vulnerable to the speed and regularity at which the ball was flying in.
Ultimately, it all became too much.
Not even the most optimistic Demon would have expected them to be playing deep into September this year, with a rookie head coach and a list shorn of two of its greatest ever players - Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver - last October, and another - Steven May - before the start of the season.
But with a win in the back pocket over the Dockers, the clear premiership favourites, and question marks over the other flag contenders, a run all the way to the Grand Final was not out of the question.
At least that was the case two weeks ago. Now, with their season over after a horror fortnight, all that's left is to wonder what could have been.